Levi & Korsinsky Files Antitrust Class Action Alleging Major Airlines Pooled Confidential Data Through ATPCO to Keep Airfares High
Eduard Korsinsky
November 9, 2026
Lawsuit alleges American, Delta, Southwest, Alaska and JetBlue exchanged confidential flight-search, pricing and passenger-demand data through airline-owned ATPCO and its subsidiary, 3Victors
NEW YORK, November 9, 2026 — Levi & Korsinsky, LLP has filed a proposed class action alleging that five of the largest U.S. airlines conspired to raise and stabilize domestic airfares by pooling confidential pricing and passenger-demand data through a common intermediary, in violation of federal antitrust law.
The lawsuit, Brown et al. v. Airline Tariff Publishing Company d/b/a ATPCO et al., No. 1:26-cv-03646, was filed on November 3, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division. The defendants are American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Herndon, Virginia-based Airline Tariff Publishing Company (“ATPCO”), and its subsidiary, 3Victors, Inc.
According to the complaint, ATPCO is owned by airlines and directed by a board of airline pricing executives, and the airlines used ATPCO and 3Victors as a common intermediary to exchange information about fares and passenger demand that competitors would ordinarily keep to themselves. The alleged arrangement helped competing airlines anticipate one another’s pricing decisions, quickly detect and match discounts, and create and sustain higher fares for consumers.
The complaint focuses on the exchange of “flight shopping data”—information generated each time a traveler searches for a flight and receives fare offers, whether or not the traveler ultimately buys a ticket. These records can reveal what travelers are looking for, the prices airlines are offering, and where demand is building before it appears in bookings. The complaint alleges that ATPCO announced a shared data “clean room” for “collaborating airlines” in July 2023, acquired 3Victors in December 2023, and now sells airlines pricing and demand tools, including PriceEye and DemandView, built on that pooled data.
Plaintiffs allege that participating airlines were given access to competitors’ information on the condition that they contribute their own. Through this reciprocal “give-to-get” arrangement, the complaint alleges, the airlines reduced the uncertainty that ordinarily pushes competitors to offer lower prices to win customers. Citing Bureau of Transportation Statistics data, the complaint alleges that the average one-way fare across 693 U.S. routes rose 30.7%, from $198.71 in the first quarter of 2022 to $259.66 in the first quarter of 2026.
“Airlines are supposed to compete for every passenger, and price competition is what keeps fares in check,” said Eduard Korsinsky, Managing Partner of Levi & Korsinsky. “Our complaint alleges that these airlines did the opposite: they handed their most sensitive pricing and demand data to an airline-owned middleman and got their rivals’ data back in return. The game is rigged when competitors see each other’s playbooks. No one has to cut fares to win customers, and travelers pay the difference. The antitrust laws exist to stop exactly this.”
“Every time a traveler searched for a flight, that search and the pricing each airline offered became intelligence for the airline’s competitors,” Korsinsky said. “Passengers never agreed to bankroll that arrangement through higher fares. We intend to hold ATPCO and these airlines accountable, recover what travelers were overcharged, and shut the data pipeline down.”
The lawsuit asserts two claims under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, a hub-and-spoke conspiracy to fix, raise and stabilize airfares and an unlawful exchange of competitively sensitive information, and seeks treble damages and an injunction barring the defendants from exchanging current, non-public pricing and shopping data among competing airlines. The allegations have not been proven, and no class has been certified.
The proposed class includes all persons and entities in the United States that bought a ticket for domestic air travel from American, Delta, Southwest, Alaska (including Hawaiian Airlines since September 18, 2024) or JetBlue, directly or through an agent acting on the airline’s behalf, from November 1, 2022 onward. Class members do not need to take any action at this time. Travelers who would like information about the lawsuit may visit this page to learn more or contact Ellen Noteware at ENoteware@zlk.com or 215-888-0418.
About Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
Levi & Korsinsky, LLP represents plaintiffs in complex litigation, including antitrust and consumer class actions. Over the past 20 years, the team at Levi & Korsinsky has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients and built a track record of winning high-stakes cases. Our firm has extensive expertise representing investors in complex litigation and a team of over 70 employees to serve our clients. For seven years in a row, Levi & Korsinsky has ranked in ISS Securities Class Action Services’ Top 50 Report as one of the top securities litigation firms in the United States.
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Eduard Korsinsky
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